High-density residential property is a 'necessity'

over the past 15 years, the south african government has made considerable strides towards improving access to housing for those who depend on the state to address their need for decent shelter.

there has been a major drive to promote home ownership through subsidising housing delivery. until recently, the focus of this drive has mainly been the delivery of relatively small free-standing housing units for private ownership in low-density settlements, rather than the creation of vibrant settlements encompassing housing for ownership and rental and within reasonable access to urban opportunities (such as economic, educational and cultural activities).

this approach has yielded unsatisfactory results, with most south african cities still facing massive housing backlogs and growing numbers of families living in informal settlements. increasing the provision of public rental housing in higher densities could help to address this housing crisis and change our cities spatially, socially and economically.

single residential accommodation for urban living is a huge and unsustainable extravagance. this form of housing is developed with state funds for people with very low incomes, but is more expensive to provide than row housing, semidetached housing or three-storey walk-ups. the designs do not make efficient use of the land available, and the high cost of extending infrastructure, roads and services to areas located on the periphery should also be taken into account.

for those who must live in the housing, it is also expensive. for example, in cape town large numbers of subsidised houses have been built in outlying suburbs like delft, blue downs and happy valley.

a domestic worker living in one such suburb may earn a minimum wage of r1 500 a month but spend more than 36 percent of this on travelling alone. based on current fares, she may spend r328 on bus fares and another r216 on taxi fares each month to reach a workplace in cape town's southern suburbs, since direct routes are rarely an option.

furthermore, due to the inefficiencies in public transport networks, she would spend at least four hours travelling between her home and workplace each day.

the trend toward sprawling housing settlements has many detrimental effects. small-scale economic activity is limited in such settlements and the range and levels of commercial activity are low. the unit costs of social and other services are high due to low levels of concentration, and residents are inconvenienced by the lack of mix, diversity and overlap of activities.

it is clear the demand for rental tenure is increasing in both developing and developed countries, in part due to the inaccessibility of home ownership arising from constraints in the land and housing markets.

the development of higher-density public rental housing is not only viable in this context, it is a necessity.

the development action group, dag, supports the views expressed in a un-habitat report on rental housing published as a part of the global campaign for secure tenure.

the report notes that only some governments are supporting rental housing development despite the fact that a large proportion of residents in cities and towns are tenants. the report recognises that rental is only a partial answer to housing problems, but cautions governments to guard against perpetuating "the myth of the achievability of universal home ownership".

instead, they argue that governments should accept that millions of households already live in rental housing and that most people will, at some point in their lives, need rental accommodation.

housing developments such as the new drommedaris development in brooklyn represent an important shift away from state-funded freestanding housing developments that only offer private ownership to people with low incomes. while many of the architectural designs and layout plans of the drommedaris development could be improved, the provision of rental accommodation in such a strategic location to households with incomes ranging between r2 500 and r7 500 a month is a worthy government initiative. the state put up 66 percent of the funding for the development and stipulated requirements, including location.

however, this development only targets a very small portion of the market, and what is to become of the majority of those in need of housing since they, like our domestic worker, may only earn r1 500 or less a month? research quoted in a social housing foundation report (2008) shows that about 20 percent of south african households are tenants, and that 55 percent of this group earn less than r3 500 a month.

the report shows that over 40 percent of renters live in slum conditions and that the greatest growing demand for rental in south africa is among households with monthly incomes between r801 and r3 200. this research also shows that the trend in the supply of rental housing has been to target those with monthly incomes between r3 500 and r7 500. this housing has been provided by social housing institutions, small-scale landlords and the private sector, but has nevertheless been insufficient and demand is still great in this income category.

most importantly, the statistics show that there is a need for downward reach into the rental housing market for the group earning below r3 500 a month - which brings us back to the dilemma of the domestic worker in delft who is still stuck in a subsidised free-standing house which she owns, but which is located in nowhere-man's land.

over the years, public rental housing stock has not been properly managed by municipal and provincial governments, which has complicated tenant relations and contributed to poor collection of rentals. unsurprisingly, municipalities and provincial governments have been keen to rid themselves of rental housing stock and have avoided the development of new public rental housing.

the government has, instead, focused on providing rental accommodation to households with incomes between r3 500 and r7 500 a month through financial partnerships with social housing institutions (for example, the state provided 66 percent of the funds for the drommedaris project).

recognising the need to review this trend, the national government recently introduced the community residential units (cru) programme to increase the public rental housing on offer to households with lower incomes. it provides a framework for dealing with existing - and developing more - public sector rental housing stock.

all housing departments should regard the development and provision of viable public rental stock as an obligation and a priority. a holistic programme should be established which interprets the policy and provides clear guidelines to municipalities to roll out cru.

careful attention should be given to the effective management of stock, educating tenants to understand their rights, privileges and responsibilities, careful tenant selection, and to developing innovative payment methods.

implementing the cru programme and the continued provision of other rental housing through partnerships offers households more tenure options and also creates opportunities to alter the spatial configuration of our cities.

this is so because higher-density rental housing is ideally suited to allow for a mixture of households with varied incomes and to combine uses within one development. this housing can also easily be developed on vacant sites in well developed areas that are located close to economic and other urban opportunities. the overall impact is that the provision of public infrastructure (including public transport) is more affordable and sustainable.

dag therefore commends the pronouncements made by president jacob zuma in his recent state of the nation address where he said: "we will also improve delivery of rental accommodation, as some people coming to urban areas do not intend to settle permanently." it is important for the public to monitor whether this statement is backed by a viable plan which will be implemented effectively. a recent article in the financial mail reported that human settlements minister tokyo sexwale intended using government funding to stimulate greater private sector investment in rental housing for those at the lower end of the market. if the state intends relying on such an approach, it will certainly face insurmountable challenges, as the private sector will have little to gain in the housing market for people with incomes below r1 500.

a commercial model of private rental housing is only likely to relieve some of the backlog in this segment of the market, and many very poor households, like our domestic worker, will remain stuck in delft, blue downs and happy valley, where their upward mobility is constrained by the lack of economic opportunities and the social trappings of dormitory suburbs.

it is widely accepted that such households make up the vast majority of all those in need of housing and, due to their limited means, are unsuitable candidates for commercial rental development. unable to afford rentals of r1 000 or more a month, these people continue to look to the state for housing solutions.

undoubtedly, increased public rental housing is needed to complement and balance the provision of housing for private ownership and to respond to the existing and changing needs of poor households in south africa.